OA ae i, nn 7 4) a, NOTES 7 SB 241 .$16 (FOL Copy 1 = IN REGARD TO SOME eons Fa TEXTILE PLANTS OF BRAZIL, He yi THE INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION AT PHILADELPHIA IN 1876, BY Member of the Brazilian Commission and Professor of Botany in the Polytechnical School of Rio de Janeiro. NEW YORK: JOSE DE SALDANHA DA GAMA, PH. D. “OQ Novo Munpo” Printing Office, 39 Park Row, “Times ”’ Building. 1876. + aaNet Ml HGCA TK r me Ie sarhiy Goth tag > ee nseigigs? Pan afaie cht gio: toe i 94 = Foy. Tia pmo deen, THE TEXTILE PLANTS OF BRAZIL AT THE UNIVERSAL EXHIBITION IN PHILADELPHIA. It is to be lamented that Brazil did not send a complete selection of her textile plants, it is proper however to remark, that a good number of the most important species are well represented in the Agri- cultural Hall, and are held in high esteem by com- petent judges. But the beautiful filaments of the Musas or Banana trees, and those of Ananassa sativa, which was included by us in the great Expositions of Vienna and Paris, are unfortunately wanting here. We have now, however, quantities of other textile material, which we will immediately proceed to notice: Hemp—(Canabis sativa.)—A European plant which has been acclimated in Brazil, where it is used for Ist experiment, - - - 10 grammes 2nd be = - - LD ord # a - - 14 ie 4th ee - - - 18 - 5th ce z = - 19 Re Average, - - - - 15 ny The Pindayba (Xylopia sericea), which, in the lan- guage of the native Indians, means the ‘kook- wood, contains, in its cortical layers, ribbon-like strips, sim- ilar to those of the Embria (X. frutescens), both of whieh are used by the natives to tie their fences, or | at best, for coarse ropes to tie their cattle. All of these varieties of the textile elements con- trast with the dark color of the false parasite, known among us by the name of Barba de velho or Tilland- sia usneoides in botanical phraseology. From the branches of this tree fall flexible twigs of this epip- hyta, which the country people gather up to fill mattresses, pillows, cushions, and to pack porcelain and glass. They are principally sanpisae' to the mattress- maker’s purpose, and these white downs, as well as some other yellow ones, extracted from the fruit of Bombaceas, are remarkably light, and excellent mate- rials for winter mattresses and pillows. We have products of this nature from the Chorisia speciosa of Rio de Janeiro and from the celebrated Samahuma _ of the Amazon, or Hriodendron, which botanist con- sider the largest tree in the world. To complete this epitomized report, we will point to the three novelties in textile substances, each of which is very interesting. In the first place, the ie tural paper from the tree Lasiandra papyrus from ihe Serra Dourada, in the province of Goyaz, due perhaps to successive exfoliations of the epidermis ; in the second place, the seeds of an Ichites, from the province of Parana, adorned with flocks of vegetable silk, similar to the Tafetone of Africa, intended for felt for hats; finally, the vegetable wool from the province of Alagoas, or felt taken from the interior of a small fruit (Malvacca?), of weak consistency, but of a quite original appearance, from one to two - centimetres in length. (*) In the Main Building visitors will observe the long spathas of the palm Manicaria saccifera, transformed into beautiful hats, and the filaments of the Mosnor- dica operculata, into baskets, hats, and other articles of delicate handiwork. | Philadelphia, May i8th, 1876. Dr. JOSE DE SALDANHA DA GAMA. x (*) My investigations of the beautiful fibres of Mr. Severino da Costa Leite are mentioned in the report published by my fellow-member, Dr. Nicoléo Moreira.